September While sight seeing around Venice, we were lucky enough to visit the Peggy Guggenheim art gallery. I had always thought the Guggenheim was in New York – and it is! But it turns out the daughter of wealthy mining magnet, Benjamin Guggenheim, Peggy Guggenheim lived in Venice for many years. She was ex-wife of artist Max Ernst, which afforded her the opportunity to collect a gallery’s worth of beautiful and rare are works including Jackson Pollock, Dali, Max Ernst and Alexander Calder.
The Guggenheim is housed in the former residence of Peggy, which means there are small gardens attached to the gallery and the feeling is quite modern, which old at the same time. It doesn’t have an ancient feeling about it as it has been refurbished with light walls and floors, but when you look out the window, you are able to see the canal water! It’s the most wonderful mix and I can’t imagine how wonderful it must have been to have lived there.
OUTER WINDOW: VENICE, INNER WINDOW: DALI
The Guggenheim is filled with incredible great masters of art. More of the modern era (last century) and not anything crazy like a Michaelangelo or Raphael! But still absolutely priceless and wonderful!
KANDINSKY
MAX ERNST
DALI (zoomed in)
JACKSON POLLOCK
Magritte
I love this picture! It looks like a wonderful window, of a house with a window looking out! Night time house, day time sky, what a wonderful mix. I bought poster and brought it all the way back to South Africa. It’s currently still lying in my boot waiting to be box mounted, getting trashed along the way, eish.
ALEXANDER CALDER
Absolutely LOVE this piece!
I adored the Guggenheim, especially because it was such an unexpected surprise. I hadn’t known it was in Venice so it was a really, really special experience. If you enjoy art, certainly pop by for an afternoon stroll. It’s a lot less crowded than the other places, especially if you go after lunch. Be sure to check their opening times though as they were open at slightly different hours.